But even Brown can’t escape the obvious this time around: if it doesn’t work, he’s next.

“They knew they had to pick it up,” Brown said of Diaz and the defensive staff. “After (Saturday’s loss to BYU), I wasn’t going to let what happened last year continue this year.”

See what he did there? “They” knew they had to pick it up, and when they didn’t, “I” wasn’t going to stand for it.

Get it?

Hey, if you’re going to go out, why not go out firing the same bullets you’ve used for the better part of two decades? The latest Robinson for Diaz move, while comical on the surface, was more of the masterful avoidance Brown has used for years at Texas.

Robinson for Diaz was brilliant on two fronts, and neither have anything to do with Robinson’s ability to coach a defense--which is debatable if not laughable (see: Michigan). It has everything to do with more shuffling and more escaping responsibility.

When Brown fired Diaz, he immediately placed the onus of another potential disappointing season on the shoulders of someone else. During Monday’s press conference, he explained how Texas didn’t get it done against BYU and that it wouldn’t be tolerated and that he had Robinson watch film of every practice and every game to help Diaz--but not that Robinson was looking over anyone’s shoulder. If that’s not convoluted enough, we give you the second brilliant move of avoiding blame.

The Longhorns play host to Ole Miss this week, and this game--as much as any this fall--will show just how far Texas has come in what was clearly a crossroads season for Brown before BYU ran for the most yards ever against a Texas defense.

Texas clobbered Ole Miss last season, rolled into Oxford and hung 66 points on the Rebels. After winning that game by five touchdowns with essentially the same personnel that last weekend was gutted by BYU, there couldn’t be a clearer indicator of Brown’s impact on the Texas program than what happens this weekend in Austin.

Ole Miss has won four straight games dating to last season, is playing with key freshmen contributors from an elite 2013 recruiting class that was ranked higher than the Texas class, and is on the verge of becoming a serious factor in the SEC. The same SEC that Texas and everyone else is chasing.

The same SEC that bitter rival Texas A&M--just because Texas refuses to play the Aggies doesn’t mean they’re not rivals--beat last year and sits high above in the SEC echelon. The same Texas A&M that has, in one season in the SEC, blown by Texas on the recruiting trail.

See where this is headed?

If Texas can’t beat surging Ole Miss this weekend; if Brown can’t get the Texas players motivated to play hard after the BYU embarrassment, the natural excuse becomes the transition on defense and how it will take time for the Longhorns to adjust to their new defensive coordinator.